SBIR Phase II: Dual Substrate MEMS switch

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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II SBIR project will develop manufacturing capabilities for MEMS electrical switches with a novel dual substrate design approach. The approach consists of dividing the switch components between two substrates, with the moving portion on an upper substrate, and the stationary contacts on a lower substrate. The moving portion will be formed from a stress-free layer of single crystal silicon, and so has no tendency to warp or distort. Using two substrates allows the contacts to be fully exposed throughout processing, and cleaned just before the substrates are bonded together to form the switch, thereby minimizing the contact resistance of the switch. Because the contacts are exposed, they can be effectively cleaned just prior to sealing in the hermetic seal between the two wafers, thereby reducing the contact resistance of the junctions. This Phase II effort will take the improved design into volume manufacturing to produce higher power, higher frequency, lower contact resistance and/or smaller footprint switches than competing ones while being produced at lower costs. If successful, the approach described here will be used to produce MEMS cantilevered switches for a broad range of applications, from DC power handling applications to RF and radar applications. Because of their high current-carrying, high frequency characteristics with small size and low cost, the MEMS switches may serve as viable replacements for FET switches or micro relays in a wide range of devices. The approach may also be applicable to other sorts of MEMS devices, such as sensors and actuators, which may have a movable component suspended over a substrate which interacts with a fixed component on the substrate. This approach may therefore fundamentally alter how these devices are manufactured, and open up a wide range of applications not presently served by MEMS devices.